In the gaming art, the term “Live Dealer” refers to games in which a player participates in a live game from a location remote from the area of live play, such as a casino. The present disclosure relates to a method of implementing a Live Dealer game, and more particularly, to methods of synchronizing a Live Dealer game between a dealer or local player at a live play area and one or more remotely-participating players.
A Live Dealer game may be available for a variety of live casino games, such as, for example, roulette, baccarat, and blackjack. During a Live Dealer game, a remote player participates in the same game that a local player does. The remote player may receive information from the casino, such as what cards have been dealt by a live dealer or played by a local player, and also transmits information to the casino, such as what wagers have been made or cards played by the remote player. Additionally, the information communicated to the remote player from the casino may include a live video feed of game-play at the gaming table, and also an indication of a rank and suit of each dealt card as the card is scanned or otherwise sensed by a detector, such as a card reader.
However, information sent to the remote player may not always be synchronized with information revealed at the gaming table. For example, the indication of the rank and suit of the dealt card may be sent to the remote player as the card is scanned, but this indication may be sent before the card is actually turned face-up to become visible. In such a scenario, the remote player may receive an indication of the rank and suit of the card before the card is actually revealed to the local player.
A lack of synchronization between the live action and the communication to the remote player may lead to a situation where the participating players perceive that they are at a disadvantage relative to each other. As a consequence, the players may lose confidence in the Live Dealer game, and play less, resulting in less revenue for the game proprietor.